The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-05-05
TIE LABOR QUESTION.
Edward Athinson's Very Plain Words I
W0rkingmen OF BOstOn.

ulacturer and writer on economic subjects,
lectured before the Central Labor Union,
at Era Hall this evening, on "The Margin
Of Profits" His treatment Of the labor
question, with which his lecture closed.
was aomewhat novel and Of general inter.
est. In speaking Of organized labor, he
said:
Now, you won't like 1t when l tell you
right here that the "scab" 10 the man who
will come out ahead, and you will get left.
But don't mistake me. | wholly approve
OF the organization Of labor. I don't care
what you call 1t, whether trades-unlop,
knights OF Labor or by any other name;
all that I claim Ia that you mind your own
business. Whist Is needed no. 10 q club
Of 'scabs;' that ia, a liberty club, a mind.
your.own business club. II you have
Knights oil Labor, why not have tho
squires Of Work. 1 belieyo in o equire
more than l do III a knight. The equires
have been licking the knighta Tor the last
800 years, getting on top, and by-and,by
they will bury them. We have done with
kings, with princes, with dukes and other
privileged %clasBes; now what business
have the knights Of to-day to take up the
privileged which the Equires took away
from the old knights long ago? Whist
were those privileged that the princes. the
dukes and the knights uaed to claim in
old times? Just what the Knights OF La
Dor claim now, the right 10 tell you or me
what We ahall do with our time and our
brsins and how we ahall use our hands.
That won't work. The equires won't have
ii. There are more squires than there are
knights, only they don't know It yet.
Then l say, lot the equires o~rganizs. sup.
port each other and help each other to
find out what their work Is really worth.
=! They don't want any master workmen;
they don't want any masters Of any kind
to order them around. They want corpo.
rails aud sergeanta, men OF their own kind;
non.commissioned officers to keep them
in line and to keep them all up to the
best mark. When you organize such a
club as this every member will get higher
wages because he will be the best man OF
his kind; each III will be q man who
knows how to make his own bargains and
manage his own affairs. There will al.
ways DO work for him at the highest
price, because he will be the man who
will make goods at tho highest wageB and
at the lowest cost. That's the kind OF
man that every employer wants 10 find.
1t is a great blunder to say that while
the rich are growing richer; the poor are
growing poorer it is only the poor who
cant work well or who won't work well
who grow poor while tho rich are grow.
ing rich in this country. The best times
for tho manufacturer are the times when
he makes tho most money, snd thsy arc
always when the wageo arc highest and
not when they are the lowest, be-
cause wage earnera arc their principal
and most important cuetomers.
Therefore, I tell you, ~organize, organize,
organize; but organize the equires Of
work call in oil the "scabs' to Join, and
don't refuse any nan who WORKS for his
living either with his hands or his head,
with his own capital, or his own tools or
his own brains, II he be an honest man
and d true man.
II there Ia one thing meaner than q
rich man who does not admit that wealth
has duties as well Us rights it ia G work.
man who tries TO prevent his neighbor
from making his own bargains in his own
way, and who, when he fsils, ga no always
will fail, next tries to make him con.
temptible by %nicknaming him "ecab."
despise this talk about the rights Of labor.
The poor man has no more rights than
tina rich man. What you want to think
about are the rights OF man whether he is
rich or poor.
/ tell you here and now that by the acts |
Of the Legislature which you have tried
for, and some OF which have been passed,
and by way Of bylaws Of your Knights OF
Labor, your clubs and your associations,
which you have tried 10 force people to
adopt, you are driving capital out Of the
State Of Massachusetts. Up to this time
the true men Of this country, the fles men !
OF this country, the gcabs OF this country,
have managed their own affairs fairly well,
without much regard to your L eddle.4
some acts. The result Of that has been
that the men Of special ekill, who are at
the head Of their trades, are 100 per cent
better of to-day than they were twenty
years ago and more. Tho average car
penter, mason, painter OF other mechanic,
who minds his own business and keeps
the control of hin own time, can buy
nearly twice as much, but not quite; the
average factory operative can buy two.
thirds more than he or she could buy |
twenty years ego with q years wages; and
the common laborer can buy so per cent
But this will not 70 on if you don't
stop.